Page 36 of Spectacle

We teleport to the warehouse. Everyone is on high alert, and all are wearing special combat armor the dragons supplied. It’s made of dragon scales and is virtually bullet and magic proof, and it will shift with a person if they need to, so that means even I’m wearing it. I haven’t changed forms yet, because I’m going to be in it for a while with that many people to unfreeze, and I don’t want to run out of juice. Beings that primal are also a little hard to control without losing some of myself.

“Holy shit.” My voice echoes in the warehouse despite the vast amount of stone statues. “That video did not do the amount justice. I’m not sure if I can get them all done in one go.”

The warehouse is way bigger than I anticipated, and the amount of people must be in the thousands, not the hundreds. It’s going to take way more time to change them all back.

“Start with my father and Xavier’s parents.” Silac points at the familiar statues, and I feel a pang of sadness at seeing the two vibrant, full of life warlocks trapped like that.

“Do you think that’s such a good idea?” Brannock asks before I get a chance to change forms.

Silac glares at him, but Xavier looks thoughtful as he scratches his chin. “Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“No, Brannock is right. What if they come to get them as leverage to make sure you go through with the ceremony? I certainly would,” Maxsim agrees, and what he says makes sense.

“Kind of like Han Solo trapped in carbonite and on display for Jabba,” I remark, and everyone looks at me with bewilderment. “Never mind.” I wave a hand, putting Star Wars on the family movie night list.

Xavier continues. “Maybe if she unfreezes them, we can ask them what they know before repetrifying them. It’s going to seem too suspicious if they disappear, then the Bravalanas will be on high alert.”

“But then I’ll have to go through with the marriage to Kinga to stop them from killing them.” Silac looks at me hopelessly, and we can all hear the desperation in his voice.

“What about an illusion of them as well?” Maxsim suggests.

Xavier shakes his head. “They won’t be able to pick up an illusion and move them. If they were already in place, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“What about a spell that temporarily freezes them with the illusion of them being stone attached to their bodies? Then, when shit starts to go down, they will unfreeze and join the fight,” Saxon suggests.

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea. Both of those things are simple spells, so easily doable,” Xavier agrees.

“Let’s do that then. Can you please turn my father back?” Silac pleads with me. Tirrian’s brothers and sister have been keeping an eye on the perimeter to make sure we aren’t interrupted. They shifted as soon as we arrived and are doing aerial surveillance, and they will let us know if anyone gets close, but I would like to get started.

“I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to reanimate everyone tonight. I’m definitely going to need blood and sex,” I tell them, not meeting any of their eyes.

“Hey, don’t you dare act like that. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Saxon puts his finger under my chin and lifts it so I’m looking him in the eye. “That’s why you have all of us. Trust me when I say it is no hardship to power our wife up.” He grins, and the rest of the guys chuckle except for Silac and Brannock. Silac just looks uncomfortable, and Brannock looks hopeful. Ah, yes, I guess now will be as good a time as any to knock one or two mutual orgasms out of the park.

“As long as you’re willing.”

“I’d rather wait,” Silac says, and the others glare at him, and my stomach sinks.

“Of course,” I agree, even though we are less than twenty-four hours away from him being rid of his fiancée problem. What does a girl have to do to get some snake action? I’m beginning to think that he’s not all that interested but still needs our help to untangle himself. Maybe he lost interest when he saw me change into the basilisk. They are pretty fucking ugly compared to the nagas, who are straight up gorgeous for a slithery, fanged creature.

I brush off the hurt and let my mimic powers wash over me. I need to work out how many statues I can change before I need to power up, and I need to be able to change back before I do. I don’t think any of my guys would appreciate needing to fuck me in basilisk form—except for maybe Xavier, since he’s such a kinky fuck. Silac also probably wouldn’t mind if he was on the ride a Lila train, but he’s not, so he’s out.

I slither up to the first statue, prick a finger with one of my fangs, and smear a bit of blood on Cronus’s forehead. I feel the power spark that goes with it, and his body shimmers. He gasps for air before roaring loudly. Holy fuck, he could rival Maxsim with that noise. I step back quickly as his power throbs against my body.

“Where the fuck is he? I’ll kill him,” he shouts and locks eyes with me before lunging with his hands out to grab my neck.

“No, Dad, that’s Lila!” Xavier shouts, and Cronus halts inches from snapping my neck. He cocks his head and looks at me. I hold perfectly still, not wanting to set the furious warlock off, but I do give him a little smile.

“Hi, Dad,” I say to him, and his whole body relaxes as his hands drop from my neck. He wraps his arms around my body as he hugs me.

“My dear girl, thank you. It was horrifying being trapped and unable to get out. I couldn’t even get my magic to work. Quick, do Xylene, will you?” He steps back and gestures to his wife. The puncture wound on my finger has sealed, so I repeat the process with my fang and drop it on Xavier’s mom’s forehead. She reacts in much the same way as her husband but is quicker with her magic, and it’s only Xavier’s quick thinking of putting a shield between me and her that stops her from obliterating me.

“Love, that’s Lila. Stop.” Cronus jumps at his wife and wraps her in his arms, holding her tight. They cling to one another, and we give them a moment to recover without our attention on them. Xavier joins their huddle, and I hear him telling them what happened before they turn to face us.

“Lila, thank you.” Xylene grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. I don’t blame her for not hugging me, I’m a fucking mess. Basilisk half form is not attractive at all.

“Okay, Silac’s father next. Do you want to get close so you can stop him from killing me?” I raise an eyebrow at the naga, and he moves into position. He’s changed forms, and I guess he’s going to need it since his dad is in half form. My mimic powers throb, and I grit my teeth and clamp down to hold the form I’m in. Holy crap, it wants me to mimic Silac desperately. I won’t do that. He’s been very insistent on waiting, and if it comes down to it, I don’t need a naga form. He might only be interested because it’s his only chance. I don’t want to be wanted because it will get his father off his back. I have enough mates who want me for me, not because I can change into the same race as them. Hell, Caspian, Xavier, Saxon, and Link all wanted me when they thought I was a boring old no powered Skarrian.

I feel his tail slide against mine, and it gives me goosebumps. It’s an incredibly erotic feeling, and I almost groan out loud. I don’t think he did it on purpose, but I move anyway. I don’t need any more temptation, and the primal basilisk part of me wants to fuck and bite and wrap him up in our tail so he can’t get away.